After decorating your pumpkins, you may be wondering what to do with all your leftover bits. Don’t throw it away! Using them up in a recipe is both good for the environment and good for you taste buds. Try out these recipes below for some inspiration.
Pumpkin fries
Ingredients:
- 1/2 a medium pumpkin
- 2tsp of garlic granules
- 2tsb dried oregano
- Salt
- Oil
Method:
- Heat oven to 220°C
- Peel pumpkin with potato peeler and remove all of the seeds.
- Cut the flesh into thin fries.
- Put on a baking tray and cover with oil, garlic, oregano and salt.
- Bake for approximately 20 mins.
Pumpkin soup
Ingredients:
- 1.5kg pumpkin
- Olive oil
- 1tsb dried chilli powder
- 1tsb coriander
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 carrot
- 1 stick of celery
- 1 litre hot vegetable stock (cube)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method:
- Heat oven to 170°C.
- Cut pumpkin into wedges as best as possible, remove seeds and drizzle with olive oil.
- Sprinkle chilli, coriander, salt and pepper over pumpkin.
- Roast for one hour until soft.
- Chop onion, garlic, carrot and celery and cook until soft.
- Then, add to pan with vegetables and add hot stock.
- Blend with stick blender to required thickness.
Pumpkin seeds
Ingredients:
- 200g of pumpkin seeds
- 2tbsp of oil
- 2tbsp granulated sugar
- 1tsb cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
Method:
- Heat oven to 180°C.
- Scoop out inside of pumpkin and separate seeds from pulp as much as possible.
- Mix oil and seasoning in bowl add seeds and coat.
- Spread seeds in one layer on greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 mins, stirring every 10 mins. Remove when golden brown.
Pumpkin crisps
Ingredients:
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Remove the seeds of the pumpkin properly.
- Use a potato peeler or a mandolin slices to cut the pumpkin slices really thin.
- Spread them evenly and in a single layer and sprinkle with olive oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Once browned take them out and season with salt, pepper and spices to taste.
Pumpkin bread
Ingredients:
- 220g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoonground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 150g granulated sugar
- 100g packed light or dark brown sugar
- 340g pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
- 120ml vegetable oil
- 60ml orange juice
- 120g semi-sweet chocolate chips
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C degrees.
- Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt together until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, and orange juice.
- Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together. There will be a few lumps. Do not over mix.
- Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown.
- The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs.
Pumpkin pie
Ingredients:
Method:
- Bring the pumpkin to the boil in a saucepan. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the pumpkin and let cool.
- Heat oven to 180°C.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a loose-bottomed tart tin. Chill for 15 minutes.
- Line the pastry with baking parchment and baking beans, then bake for 15 mins. Remove the beans and paper, and cook for a further 10 mins. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Increase oven to 220°C.
- Push the cooled pumpkin through a sieve into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, nutmeg and half the cinnamon.
- Mix in the beaten eggs, melted butter and milk, then add to the pumpkin purée and stir to combine.
- Pour into the tart shell and cook for 10 mins.
- Then reduce the temperature to 180°C. Continue to bake for 35-40 mins until the filling has just set.
- Leave to cool, then remove the pie from the tin.
- Mix the remaining cinnamon with the icing sugar and dust over the pie. Serve chilled.
